Publishing my first romance novel—Saving Shelby—wasn’t the beginning of my writing journey, but it was the moment that turned a dream into a reality. It was scary and exhilarating at the same time.
When I hit publish, I felt like Saving Shelby was the best story that would ever come from my fingertips. I couldn’t even imagine coming up with a better storyline.
However, it didn’t take long for me to realize how naïve I was. I was only part way through writing Ginny’s Crush—the second book in the series—when I figoured out that I had made a few critical errors that were going to come back to haunt me later in the series.
In this post I will let you in on a few secrets about Saving Shelby. I will disclose which locations are real and which ones are completely made up.
And I will tell you which decision I would make differently, if I was writing it today! *Note that there may be a few minor spoilers in this post*
A Romance Novel is Born
Getting Saving Shelby from a thought in my head to a full blown romance novel was a LONG process. I can’t say exactly how long it took, because I can’t actually remember starting it. I honestly can’t even remember where the idea came from.
Or when I decided to write romance instead of fantasy.
If I had to guess—and since I can’t remember, I have to guess—I would say that Saving Shelby was a five year labour of love. Some moments looked more like love than others, but I’m very proud of the result. Even if there are things that I wish I had done differently. But I’ll get to that later.
The other thing that I don’t remember is the moment when I decided that this was the novel I was going to publish. I have many other manuscripts in various degrees of completion. But I do have distinct memories of spending my lunch hours hidden away in the nearby library, madly typing away to get every word in that I could before I had to head back to work.
At the time I had a very rigid full-time work schedule, and I fit my writing in around all my other responsibilities. I have since been able to go to a part-time schedule that gives me more space to write.
Which is probably the reason why Ginny’s Crush took SIGNIFICANTLY less time to write.
LOCATION. LOCATION. LOCATION.
Saving Shelby takes place on Vancouver Island, which is located on the west coast of Canada. I chose it because it is what I know. Plus, there is an endless supply of amazing locations perfect for a romance novel.
So which locations are real?
A few of the places in the city proper are real, such as Quadra Elementary School where Shelby and Ian have their “meet cute” (in fact my eldest attended school there for a few years) and the Strathcona Hotel (a really amazing place that has a pub, nightclub, hillbilly bar, and a rooftop patio with a beach volleyball court).
And a few of the locations are figments of my imagination, like the café where Shelby meets Ian to retrieve her purse.
Photo by Cole Freeman on Unsplash
The café—which, weirdly enough, I didn’t give a name—is located on Victoria’s Inner Harbour (pictured above). While the café is fictitious, the feel of it is real. Many of the old character homes that originally made up downtown Victoria are now businesses and restaurants instead of homes.
The view below is pretty close to the view Shelby would have seen out the window of the café. And next to the big white “mansion” pictured (it’s actually the Huntingdon Manor Hotel, which is rumoured to be haunted) is where I imagined the café to be located.
The inspiration for the café being inside a character home came from the Tea House at the Pendray Inn. I had lunch there with a friend, and I couldn’t help but imagine how romantic it would be to have lunch with a special someone in a place like that. And while Shelby and Ian still had a long way to go before they would truly find each other, it seemed like the perfect location.
Photo by Armon Arani on Unsplash
Romance Novel Gone Wild
Once the story leaves the city, the places that Shelby encounters are inspired by real locations, but they aren’t real locations, if that makes sense.
The coastal highway that Shelby and Ginny take to get to the Alfresco Adventures land, where the Survival Spa is being held, is actually British Columbia Highway 14. It winds along the very southern end of the west coast of Vancouver Island and takes you from Langford (just west of Victoria) to Port Renfrew (on the west coast).
The actual location of the Alfresco Adventures’ land is fictitious. But the area where I imagined it to be was near Port Renfrew.
The river that Shelby has her accident on is inspired by the San Juan River. And the beaches in the area are inspired by Mystic and Bear Beach on the Juan de Fuca Trail. Beaches that I have had LOTS of adventures on before and appear in many other places in my writing. You can check out my other posts to learn more about them (Mystic and Bear).
Hot Springs to Inspire Romance
One of my favourite scenes is when the students and staff from the Survival Spa head to the “Potholes” to enjoy the hot water. Just the thought of Ian under the waterfall gets my romance juices flowing.
But, alas, that scene can only happen in my imagination, even if Ian McLean wasn’t a fictitious character.
The “potholes” are inspired by the Sooke Potholes, pools on the Sooke River that make excellent swimming holes. But before you plan your next vacation there, I must warn you that they aren’t actually hot. They are in fact FREEZING! It is a river that is coming straight out of the mountains! Even on the hottest day in summer, the water is shockingly cold.
However, the rocks really do soak up the heat from the sun, and after a dip in the frigid water, it is amazing to lie on the warmed rocks—I imagine this is how lizards feel when they are sunning themselves on a rock.
I have plans to write a post all about the Sooke Potholes, but I will have to wait until spring. Because—as I discovered during an adventure which started out with the purpose of getting some amazing pictures of the Potholes but ended with the discovery of a waterfall—the potholes aren’t visible in the fall. The river runs too high and fast at that time of the year. You can learn about that adventure here.
Romance Novel Done Differently
So what would I have done differently?
If I had known that Saving Shelby would be part of a series, then I would have stayed away from creating fictitious locations like the hot spring potholes. While it is a wonderfully romantic place to explore, it means that I can never have a character go to the real potholes.
And that problem came up in Rescuing Claire, West Coast Romance Book 3.
How did I end up with this problem?
When I started writing Saving Shelby, I was writing it as a standalone novel. I hadn’t realized the power of the series yet. Even though I prefer to read books that are in a series. So I never even considered what kind of consequence there would be for altering the landscape so drastically.
What am I going to do about it?
There isn’t much I can do to change the situation—the hot springs are too much a part of Saving Shelby to even thing about taking them out. But going forward, I will adjust my story to fit into the landscape, rather than adjusting the landscape to fit into my story.
And, at some point, I’m going to write a fantasy romance series, so that I can make up all the romantic locations I want!
What Do I Love About Saving Shelby?
Saving Shelby will always have a special place in my heart It was my first romance novel. It’s kind of like your first love, no matter how it ends, it will always hold a special place.
As I hinted to earlier, the scene between Shelby and Ian under the waterfall is my favourite scene. I LOVE waterfalls. And the idea of sharing a sizzling hot moment underneath one gets me excited in all kinds of ways.
Luckily, there is actually a waterfall on Vancouver Island that is hot. And it even has the perfect rock underneath it for sitting. It’s flat on top, like a mermaid rock. Located at Hot Springs Cove, it is featured in Ginny’s Crush, West Coast Romance book 2. You can read more about it here.
It would be tricky to have some alone time under that waterfall though, as the hot springs are very popular, despite being very remote and only accessible by boat or seaplane.
I also have a soft spot in my heart of Shelby. She isn’t modelled after me; however, I can completely relate to her. She’s a hot mess, and while I like to identify more as a spicy disaster, I’ve got the same sort of roller coaster ride of emotions (excuse the cliché) going on. Plus, I had some relationship disasters before I found my happily-ever-after.
You’ll have to wait for a future post to find out who my favourite West Coast Romance hero is!
Where to Next?
I have some BIG plans for visiting locations around Vancouver Island to keep bringing you the romance behind my West Coast Romance Series. But with the holiday season being busy and the extra restrictions due to COVID 19, it can be a bit challenging to get out there and explore.
So I am going through my pictures from previous adventures, and I will share those with you as soon as my writing schedule gives me a chance.
My schedule is busy right now. I’ve got Rescuing Claire at the editor. And I’m working on draft 1 of a new series: West Coast Romance Rivals. The series will tell the stories of the women in the West Coast Romance Series that are either direct rivals for the hero or just make the heroines’ lives more difficult. Because, everyone has a story to tell. And everyone has a romance waiting for them.
The first story in that series will tell the story of Celeste, Shelby’s “rival”.
In addition to all that, I have something really special I’m planning for November 2021!
All right, back to writing for me!
Until next time. Keep reading. Keep wandering. And keep believing in love.
Saving Shelby is available Amazon in both paperback and ebook!
